Another November Birthday
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Mom’s birthday that fair November day. Collette hoped that Rose remembered the balloons.
“But I can’t blow them up,” Rose had said, after thinking about it. “My cheeks start to crack.”
Collette suggested that she solicit the help of Frances and Linnea, who were always all too eager to help with balloons.
Meanwhile, Collette was convinced that Carrie-Bri and Eve should try to visit Australia and New Zealand the following summer, and stay with the Moss family while there. They had already talked about the idea of visiting over breakfast that Friday morning. It could be partly in celebration of Carrie completing her masters, and a year into Eve’s own three-year degree. It promised to be a thrilling trip if they took it.
After church, back on the ranch, Mom enjoyed a quiet afternoon for her birthday over Thanksgiving fare, a viewing of about half of It’s a Wonderful Life, and a nap. Then she tried to plan out the rest of that coming week while she would be away “playing” (as she put it) with Grandma Combs in Kansas City, Wednesday through Friday, while Carrie attended the autism conference.
Later, OLeif and Joe hit Home Depot for windshield wipers for OLeif’s car and for Joe to purchase his birthday present for Mom, after he had checked Consumer Reports.
And so, after Carrie had returned from work, Mom opened her gifts from the family – the usual certificate towards her and Dad’s travels to the British Isles in four years, a note from Dad which contained her preference of perfume from two samples, a pair of fuzzy pink socks…
“Feel how squishy they are,” Carrie squeezed them. “We would have gotten you the green ones, but they kind of looked like mold.”
…a Christmas cookie Yankee candle (which contained little wax cookies inside the jar), a CD of 1940’s hit tunes, and the second season of The Waltons. Then Joe brought in his item, still unwrapped, and set it on the coffee table.
“Oh, Joe, no, really?” Mom was flabbergasted. “You didn’t.”
“Don’t worry – I have a job, Mom,” Joe laughed.
It was a stainless steel 10-piece set of pots and pans. So Mom had fun unwrapping the box and looking over all the pieces.
Then Frances and Linnea ran off to prepare their gift for Mom after Frances had asked to borrow various items throughout the house, mostly glass.
At youth, Jimmy hurried everyone off to Cecil Whittakers for pizza, for a rather unconventional meeting, which included Addicus and Molly, OLeif and Collette, Joe and Rose, Ben-Hur, Augustus, and Susie and Sunrise.
While waiting for pizza to be served, Addicus and Molly built towers of sugar packets, Sunrise tried to explain to OLeif how to solve a rubix cube, and Jimmy suggested that they order peanut butter pizza for very allergic Augustus and Sunrise.
“Let’s see who can die faster,” someone suggested.
Augustus’ eyes grew wide, and he pounded both hands on the table. “I’ll beat you!” He said loudly across the table to Sunrise.
Sunrise didn’t seem to have any argument with that. And Jimmy told everyone about how little Meg wanted Molly to come over and paint her room in “princess-es-es-ess”.
Afterwards, youth ran an hour over during prayer groups, and OLeif and Collette returned to the house at quarter till nine to share some of Mom’s birthday ice cream cake. The Plums were still there from small groups, just leaving. And Frances and Linnea had finished their creation for Mom.
Frances had taken a flat glass bowl (borrowed from Mom, who normally floated candles inside it), filled it with homemade confetti from white paper and a little snowman figurine. He had then removed the protective cover of Rose’s little electric fan, whose diameter was just the perfect size to cover the mouth of the bowl. And, presto! – Frances had constructed a homemade snow globe for Mom. It worked rather well, provided he carefully held the fan in place while it spun.
It was another successful birthday.